Her And Us
by Lyon Falenas
Summary: Kaoru knew there would be a day when Hikaru moved outside of their own world. Of course that doesn't necessarily mean goodbye. HikaruHaruhi
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything related to Ouran. It's just the same writing hobby countless other fangirls engage in._

_And this story is very much meant to go against the grain of the view concerning the possibility of a Hikaru/Haruhi pairing in which Kaoru would hate Haruhi or become jealous. So I tried to do the realistic tension you do start to see without going down the same path I have seen so many times. _

**Her and Us**

Kaoru's eyes remained fixated on the book before him. In one of the rare occasions of him being alone, he had decided to take the opportunity to divulge in something that he personally enjoyed. He had taken an interest in English at a young age and took every opportunity to find books to read as he seldom had anybody he could speak with in the language, at least not proficiently.

Despite the fact that everybody in their household had some grasp of the language, it was Kaoru who had truly gone to great lengths to communicate in the language. His parents and brother all had incredibly thick accents and at times had a difficult time picking up the sounds of the words. So thus, he often found himself reading on the internet or finding random books while on vacation.

The book he had found wasn't particularly good or bad. It was overly wordy at points and seemed more concerned with the technical aspects of the setting rather than characterization. However, Kaoru continued to read on, a dictionary on hand for the occasional word that he was unfamiliar with. Even a mediocre book was better than simply lounging about waiting for his brother to return from his date with Haruhi.

It wasn't as though it was entirely unexpected. For quite some time the younger Hitachiin twin had noticed how his brother looked at the girl. It was only a matter of time before he was resigned to waiting on the sidelines while his brother moved on with his life. While he was quite happy for his brother finding someone else in his life who was important, it admittedly was a bit lonely.

Sighing, Kaoru set the book beside him, taking a moment to let his eyes focus. The study he was currently in was the one corner of the estate in which the eccentricities of his family truly revealed themselves. Visitors never found their way here so there was little need to ensure the tidiness or to arrange opulent decorations as a status display. He could go through every corner of the room and find some hint to one of the members of the household.

The couch he was currently laying on was well worn, with the material ever so slightly frayed in corners and marked with the occasional stain from his father's coffee or as a victim of some game by Hikaru and himself. However, it was far too comfortable to dispose of, and thus it was kept in this room. Both of his parents had attempted at some point only to have both brothers protest it vehemently until they relented.

The nearby table had a small stack of literature that had been started by Kaoru at various points, various scraps of extra fabric or pieces of paper marking where he had left off last to either forget about or to return to at some point. More lined a heavy oak bookshelf, waiting to be read.

On the floor near one end of the couch Hikaru kept several video games that he had finished at some point. Absently, Kaoru flipped through each of them, seeing if there was anything of interest. For all their similarities, they were quite different when anybody looked beyond the superficial. They both always played video games, but Hikaru had more of an interest in fighting games; the more blood the better for him. Kaoru didn't mind them but a look at his collection would show his preference for storytelling games with long epic plots. He wasn't entirely sure why Hikaru had left the games laying out in such a manner, yet it was his own touch to the room.

His parents took up much of the opposite end of the room with their projects. Most of his father's deals that occurred online took place in his small corner of the room. His mother was in the middle of designing a a new line of clothing, mostly women's' wear. There had been talk already of Hikaru bringing Haruhi home at one point so she could be used to model some of the designs.

Haruhi… Kaoru had to admit that she was absolutely fantastic. There were so many good qualities to her that he could understand why his brother had fallen for her. That moment where she told them apart without hesitation was the beginning of the end of their own personal world. He had to admit that even he felt a little something for the brash commoner girl, but nothing like what his brother felt.

But why did he feel so lonely? He knew that this was a possibility for quite some time. Kaoru had tried to prepare for it. Perhaps it was because he was alone now. Hikaru was going to move on and leave him behind. The idea hurt considering that for sixteen years they had been together virtually every moment. That part made him wish that they had never gotten together.

With a soft creak, the door to the study opened. Hikaru had come home. Kaoru had been so lost in thought that he hadn't heard his brother's return. Looking over to him he tried to put on a smile s he greeted him, "Hey, how was the date?"

"It went pretty good," Hikaru said, his face lighting up a bit, "It was a lot of fun. We didn't really make any plans so we just wandered around."

Smirking slightly Kaoru couldn't help but tease, "And you didn't leave her alone in a rainstorm this time?"

That had been a slightly touchy subject for Hikaru ever since it had happened. He still felt guilty for acting as he had that day. "No, I didn't. Of course not. I'm not that stupid…"

"I know…" Kaoru said, his voice trailing off as though lost in thought again.

Noticing the tone with which that prhase came, Hikaru couldn't help but tell that something was a bit off. In fact, his younger brother had seemed somewhat detached in the past few weeks. "What's been eating you anyway?"

Shaking his head Kaoru dismissed the concern, "It really isn't anything Hikaru."

"You know… Haruhi wants to see this new movie being released next week. It's some American flick. You should probably come with since you'll probably like it better anyway."

It wasn't like Hikaru to take a guess at someone else's emotions and to be so right. Despite the closeness of the twins, it had always been Kaoru who was well in tune with emotions of those around him. Hikaru had a tendency to act out on a whim and seldom realized how he affected those around him, even his own brother. It was never that Hikaru didn't care but rather that he failed to pick up on indirect signals.

Switching to one of the books sitting on the table and flipping to the page he left the marker, Kaoru sighed, "No, it's okay. You and Haruhi are going to go on dates… I'm not going to be a third wheel."

"Actually, she was the one who suggested it."

The thought caused Koaru to smile a bit. He realized just how silly it was to think that he was losing his brother. One of the reasons that they had let her into their lives at all was because she saw them not as one person but as individuals… the other was that she above any outsider knew just what kind of bond they held. She wouldn't divide them. Hikaru could have time for both him and her.

"Huh? Kaoru?" Hikaru mentioned, a puzzled look on his face, "what's with the spaced out thing?"

"No, it isn't anything, really. I was just thinking, " Kaoru said honestly, "Although if it's the one I think she is talking about I guess I can tag along. It will be fun."


	2. When the Fool Emerges

_Disclaimer: Same as before as nothing has really changed._

_This is a bit of an attempt to just expand a bit on what had originally been a one shot attempt. Call it inspiration or simply more rambling on a topic that is probably unpopular with most fans (no twincest and goodness forbid a Kaoru who can accept his brother ending up with someone). So yeah, anybody looking for that should go elsewhere._

**When the Fool Emerges**

"Ugh, I don't know why I put up with him sometimes?" Haruhi exclaimed, dropping her backpack on the floor of an otherwise empty third music room with a slight thud. She was upset and even if the possibility was high of someone witnessing the spectacle, she needed to vent. How dare he do something so selfish and foolish. "That idiot!"

Having heard the quick rant as he had arrived at the room, Kaoru opened the door and responded. "So which one is it today? Was it the lord or was it my brother?" he asked matter of factly. Her reaction was quite characteristic of one of the two having done something to get under her nerved.

"Why in the world are you here Kaoru?"

"I was supposed to help my mom design some stuff and left the pattern in here." he responded.

Shaking her head, Haruhi's head became buried in her left hand. It was pointless trying to hide this situation from Kaoru who had not seen the incident. It was only a matter of time before the rumor passed through the entire student body of rich kids wit few other things to do than gossip. "Your brother thought it would be funny to kiss me after host club today."

Kaoru simply blinked several times before remarking matter of factly, "So?"

Haruhi gave a deep sigh at the reaction. It seemed as though nobody picked up on anything at this school, even the most obvious. "You do realize that everyone is still under the impression that I am a guy."

"Oh yeah..." came the response. Over the past few months that his brother had been dating Haruhi, it had become easier than ever to forget that for the better part of the day, six days of the week that she was supposed to be masquerading as a male. She spent enough time at their place with their mother always using the poor girl as a model for various dresses. For the longest time her being in a female role was a fun novelty that they could use as leverage. Back when she was simply their toy. Now thinking of her as a girl came easily, one that just happened to be his twin brother's girlfriend.

It was hard to stifle the laughter despite the fact that she had an admirable point. School was amongst the worst places for their relationship to be revealed. There were no worries in the commoner area of town in which Haruhi lived as nobody would have ever visited there. It certainly was going to liven up class for the next few days. "Well, on the plus side, most of the school already assumed the two of us are gay." he explained with a chuckle.

This caused Haruhi to smirk as her friend did have a valid point. It didn't truly matter that much what a bunch of pampered heirs thought about her sexuality. And it certainly didn't seem like either of the Hitachiin twins were particularly concerned with their impressions anyway. However, this didn't rectify everything. "Well even if that part doesn't matter Kyoya is probably going to kill us. You do realize your stupid brother love act is going to make half of the girls hate me. I can just see it now 'breaking the perfect brotherly love.'" While Haruhi's tone had barely changed, the deadpan sarcasm gave away her disdain for the daily routine as a part of entertaining. She had never understood the appeal of the incestuous act and was dreading the repercussions from that particular segment of the club's patrons.

"You know, we can always bring you in on the fold on it. Can turn it into a three way with you sandwiched between us. I bet you that it would make the girls squeal so much that Kyoya would drop that record book of his."

"No." she said immediately after the idea left Kaoru's lips. She was not about to let the two devil twins get her involved in whatever act they had planned each day. While she hated to admit it, she felt that something like that would cheapen the relationship she had with Hikaru, even if she was upset right now.

The answer had been fully expected. He did not respond to the refusal, lazily wandering over to the small storage room that served as the changing room for the members of the club when they cosplayed. Upon entering he quickly found the discarded design he had drawn earlier, which had been his original intent of returning to the room. However, he took his time folding and packing it, waiting to see if there was anything else that had gotten to Haruhi enough where she ran from it.

It took a few minutes, but sure enough he could hear the soft steps across the marble floor followed by a soft, "Can I ask you something?"

A small nod gave her the go ahead to continue.

"Is it just that he is thoughtless at times or does your brother just do things to get a response out of me? Sometimes I just wonder..."

"I don't think he meant to do that. You and I both know that Hikaru is an idiot at times. He just didn't think about it."

She was staring now, somewhat awkward about trying to speak about such matters to Kaoru. "No, not just this. He does these kinds of things all the time. It's almost like he doesn't have a conscience and will do anything. I know he's immature but sometimes I do wonder if anybody could really act like he does and not realize it."

"Again my brother is an idiot." Kaoru repeated. "I know he cares about you a lot. I don't think either of us know how to deal with other people still. Even if we have changed since middle school, it's still them and us. At least he doesn't blow up at your middle school friends anymore."

"Don't remind me," Haruhi stated, remembering the incident with Arai. While the members of the host club were certainly annoying at times, it was one of the few moments where she actively disliked one of them. It was certainly not Hikaru's crowning moment.

Kaoru finished zipping his repacked bag and slung it over his shoulder, finally looking up at the girl in the traditional blue boys' uniform. "You know though, I was jealous then too. And even a little bit when you two started dating."

"Huh?"

For all her intelligence, Haruhi was quite possibly the most dense person on certain matters. "I thought it was obvious. At first I wondered how much would change. We always did everything together."

Interrupting, Haruhi remarked, "but a lot of the time the three of us do things together."

Kaoru put his hand up defensively. The tone was a bit more sharp than normal. He didn't intend on her getting upset all over again. "No, I know that. I knew it would happen someday anyway. I know you aren't going to try to change us. But I understood for a little bit why Hikaru was so upset over you seeing your friend again. We're the same in a lot of ways."

Both turned toward the door as a loud slam could be heard as wood crashed against plaster. Heavy breathing could be heard as well as a hurried rush of feet. "Haruhi!"

Despite the talk Haruhi glared at her boyfriend. Kaoru had suspected that she had forgiven him, but was not about to let him off the hook easily. If this went at all like her typical frustrations at her father, Tamaki or Hikaru, she would scold him for his actions and move on. She didn't need to scream or get angry because her words were always straight to the point and mercilessly sharp.

"Hikaru you do realize that this mess is going to be heard all around the school. You cause enough trouble as it is."

Sheepishly, Hikaru looked down, "I know I just... if you want to tell everyone that you're a girl and all that do it. I'll just pay off the rest of the debt you owe to Kyoya..."

"That won't solve anything. It already happened. But you need to really think about these things. You can't just act on a whim all the time!"

Scratching his head for a minute, Hikaru thought of a possible solution, "Well you know, we can always add you into..."

"Just stop!" Haruhi said, not about to let the ridiculous suggestion occur again. While time only revealed more differences between the two twins, it was times like this that made her fully understand why many people identified them as being one and the same.

Of course, Hikaru having not heard the discussion from earlier, gave a confused look as Kaoru laughed. Of course, seeing his brother understand eased it as a knowing look was sent his way that he would get the explanation later, at home.

"Just think things out before doing them for once. Besides, you're a lousy kisser when you're trying to surprise me."

This caused Kaoru to laugh harder. He was never sure if Haruhi ever intended to come off so blunt or if it was simply a habit. Various situations leaned any way. However, it did give him something to tease his brother about later. As the three started to leave the room, however, he leaned in toward the girl to whisper in her ear, out of earshot of Hikaru. "You say you are annoyed, but you'd be bored with anything less."

Haruhi did not respond to the comment but smiled ever so slightly, her hand caressing Hikaru's gently until he let his fingers curl around hers. He was right in many ways. Had any of the host club members been any less interesting she would have escaped long ago. However, she had to admit that she did enjoy her situation, even if it meant enduring the wrath of the female population of the school. She'll make sure Hikaru has to answer for himself as much as she will have to. Kyoya owed her a favor for the latest picture album he had concocted recently afterall.


End file.
